Music School Founded by Local Man Continues to Thrive in New City

BY VICTORIA TANNER

Arts education is commonly one of the topics cut from school programming when budgets dip. Parents are able to supplement this by enrolling their kids in after school or weekend music lessons to keep the arts alive.

Samuel Faraci,  strongly believes in the value a music education can provide a person, from elementary school students to adults.

As the founder and director of the New City School of Music, located on Main Street in New City, Director Faraci oversees the approximate 500 students who receive lessons through his schools in New City and Harrison, New York.

“Our school really cater to students, teaching them what they want to learn,” he said. “It’s a very personalized lesson.”

Faraci studied music education in college and graduate school, and did a bit of performing on the side, but never set out to start a music school.

“The schools came about very organically,” he said.

Professionals musicians who have studied music at the college level teach at the school.  Director Faraci began teaching piano lessons in 2005 and as his reputation grew as a teacher, so did the demand for his lessons.

When he was teaching on his own, Director Faraci was teaching about 40 students a week. Now, between his two schools, approximately 500 students are learning music every week.

“Parents were always asking me if I knew someone who taught guitar lessons or drum lessons,” he said. “It just seemed like the next step was to open a music school.”

Director Faraci explained that the lessons at the New City School of Music start out teaching students how to read the music. To him, the biggest hurdle to learning an instrument is learning the language.

“Right from the first lesson, we have our students reading music,” Faraci said. “If you have a solid foundation in reading music, then you can go in any direction you choose.”

The teachers that Director Faraci employs have all studied music in college. Some of the teachers came to him through friends and he reaches out to local colleges for the best teachers as well.

“There’s a lot of teachers out there who don’t teach the fundamentals correct at the start,” he said. “We are sure to teach our students exactly what they need to know right from the start.”

All ages and levels of experience are welcome at the New City School of Music. The New City School of Music is open six days a week and offers after-school lesson times that fit with school and work schedules.

“We’re starting to fill up for the fall but there’s still some lesson times available,” he said.

The school accepts students all year round enabling some children and adults with busy seasonal schedules to start when it is most appropriate. Students are assigned a teacher for the same day and time every week to ensure consistency for the student.

For parents who want their child to learn piano, but their child is really interested in the guitar, Director Faraci tells parents to “follow the student’s passion because there’s motivation there, which will lead to a deeper love of music since students are engaged learning an instrument that they want to learn.”

For more information on the New City School of Music visit www.NewCityMusicSchool.com or call 845-499-2137.  Fall lessons are underway and lesson times are going fast. Register now.